U.S. patent number RE46,330 [Application Number 14/693,890] was granted by the patent office on 2017-02-28 for driving apparatus of light emitting diode and driving method thereof.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Novatek Microelectronics Corp.. The grantee listed for this patent is Novatek Microelectronics Corp.. Invention is credited to Tsung-Hau Chang, Chin-Hsun Hsu, Kuo-Ching Hsu, Ting-Wei Liao.
United States Patent |
RE46,330 |
Hsu , et al. |
February 28, 2017 |
Driving apparatus of light emitting diode and driving method
thereof
Abstract
A driving method of a light-emitting diode (LED) adapted to a
driving apparatus is provided. The driving method includes
detecting whether the driving apparatus performs dimming, and if
the driving apparatus performs dimming, determining whether a
predetermined requirement for dimming control is met or not. When
the predetermined requirement for dimming control is not met,
respective current magnitudes of a plurality of driving currents
are regulated, and each of the driving currents is output for a
full time of a period. Conversely, when the predetermined
requirement for dimming control is met, each of the driving
currents is output for a partial time of a period.
Inventors: |
Hsu; Kuo-Ching (Hsinchu,
TW), Hsu; Chin-Hsun (New Taipei, TW),
Chang; Tsung-Hau (Hsinchu, TW), Liao; Ting-Wei
(New Taipei, TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Novatek Microelectronics Corp. |
Hsinchu |
N/A |
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Novatek Microelectronics Corp.
(Hsinchu, TW)
|
Family
ID: |
43729827 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/693,890 |
Filed: |
April 23, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
13370310 |
Oct 16, 2012 |
8288969 |
|
|
|
12628233 |
Apr 10, 2012 |
8154223 |
|
|
Reissue of: |
13556146 |
Jul 23, 2012 |
8427081 |
Apr 23, 2013 |
|
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 16, 2009 [TW] |
|
|
98131241 A |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05B
45/37 (20200101); H05B 45/46 (20200101); H05B
45/46 (20200101) |
Current International
Class: |
H05B
37/02 (20060101); H05B 33/08 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;315/291,294,297,169.1,185R,307,360,312,287
;345/46,82,63,204,211,212,207,690,691 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1515037 |
|
Jul 2004 |
|
CN |
|
1790127 |
|
Jun 2006 |
|
CN |
|
101122697 |
|
Feb 2008 |
|
CN |
|
101179883 |
|
May 2008 |
|
CN |
|
101312001 |
|
Nov 2008 |
|
CN |
|
2007042758 |
|
Feb 2007 |
|
JP |
|
2008210537 |
|
Sep 2008 |
|
JP |
|
200814857 |
|
Mar 2008 |
|
TW |
|
200820826 |
|
May 2008 |
|
TW |
|
200842781 |
|
Nov 2008 |
|
TW |
|
Other References
"First Office Action of China Counterpart Application", issued on
Dec. 10, 2012, p. 1-p. 7, in which the listed references were
cited. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Minh T
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jianq Chyun IP Office
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a .Iadd.Reissue Application of U.S. Pat. No.
8,427,081, issued on Apr. 23, 2013, application Ser. No.
13/556,146, filed on Jul. 23, 2012. The prior application Ser. No.
13/556,146 is a .Iaddend.continuation application .[.of and claims
the priority benefit.]. of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/370,310,
filed on Feb. 10, 2012, now U.S. Pat No. 8,288,969. The prior
application Ser. No. 13/370,310.[., filed on Feb. 10, 2012,.]. is a
continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
12/628,233 filed on Dec. 1, 2009, .Iadd.now .Iaddend.U.S. Pat. No.
8,154,223. The prior application Ser. No. 12/628,233 claims the
benefit of Taiwan patent application serial no. 98131241 filed on
Sep. 16, 2009. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent
applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a
part of this specification.
Claims
What is claimed is:
.[.1. A driving method of a light-emitting diode (LED), adapted to
a driving apparatus, the driving method comprising: detecting
whether the driving apparatus performs dimming; if the driving
apparatus is detected to perform dimming, determining whether a
predetermined requirement for dimming control is met or not; when
the predetermined requirement for dimming control is not met,
regulating respective current magnitudes of a plurality of driving
currents, and outputting each of the driving currents for a full
time of a period; and when the predetermined requirement for
dimming control is met, outputting each of the driving currents for
a partial time of a period..].
.[.2. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the driving method further comprises receiving a dimming signal,
and the step of determining whether the predetermined requirement
for dimming control is met or not is performed according to the
dimming signal..].
.[.3. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 2, wherein
the step of determining whether the predetermined requirement for
dimming control is met or not according to the dimming signal
comprises determining whether a duty cycle of the dimming signal is
smaller than a predetermined value or not..].
.[.4. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 1, wherein
in a situation where the predetermined requirement for dimming
control is not met, the respective current magnitudes of the
plurality of driving currents are regulated according to the
dimming signal..].
.[.5. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 4, wherein
in the situation where the predetermined requirement for dimming
control is not met, the respective current magnitudes of the
plurality of driving currents are determined according to the duty
cycle of the dimming signal..].
.[.6. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising: in a situation where the predetermined requirement for
dimming control is met, arranging a respective current magnitude
and a respective outputting time of each of the driving currents in
a period according to the dimming signal..].
.[.7. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 6, wherein
in the situation where the predetermined requirement for dimming
control is met, the respective current magnitude and the respective
outputting time of each of the driving currents in the period are
determined according to the duty cycle of the dimming
signal..].
.[.8. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 1, further
comprising: regardless of whether each of the driving currents is
output for the full time or the partial time of the period,
maintaining a sum of the driving currents calculated for a period
approximately to a fixed value for a same duty cycle of the dimming
signal..].
.[.9. A driving method of a light-emitting diode (LED), adapted to
a driving apparatus, the driving method comprising: receiving a
dimming signal; detecting whether the driving apparatus performs
dimming; if the driving apparatus is detected to perform dimming,
regulating at least one of a respective current magnitude and a
respective outputting time of each of a plurality of driving
currents in a period according to a duty cycle of the dimming
signal, such that a sum of the driving currents calculated for a
period is substantially proportional to the duty cycle of the
dimming signal..].
.[.10. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 9, wherein
in at least one of the regulations, only the respective current
magnitude of each of the driving currents is regulated according to
the duty cycle of the dimming signal, and in at least another one
of the regulations, both the respective current magnitude and the
outputting time of each of the driving currents in the period are
regulated according to the duty cycle of the dimming signal..].
.[.11. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 9, wherein
in at least one of the regulations, each of the driving currents is
output for a full time of the period, and in at least another one
of the regulations, each of the driving currents is output for a
partial time of the period..].
.[.12. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 11,
wherein whether each of the driving currents is output for the
partial time of the period or the full time of the period is
determined according to whether the duty cycle of the dimming
signal is smaller than a predetermined value or not..].
.[.13. The driving method of the LED as claimed in claim 11,
wherein for the regulations for a same duty cycle of the dimming
signal, regardless of whether each of the driving currents is
output for the full time or the partial time of the period, a sum
of the driving currents calculated for the period is substantially
maintained to a fixed value..].
14. A driving circuit for driving a plurality of light-emitting
diodes (LEDs), the driving circuit comprising: a plurality of
switches, used to be coupled to the LEDs; a dimming detector, for
receiving a dimming signal and outputting a dimming mode signal
according to the dimming signal; a current control unit, for
outputting a plurality of control signals according to the dimming
mode signal and the dimming signal, wherein the control signals
respectively control conducting states of the switches.Iadd.,
wherein the driving circuit further comprises a current driving
unit coupled between the switches and the current control unit, and
the current control unit further outputs a control voltage
according to the dimming mode signal and the dimming signal,
wherein the control voltage controls the current driving unit to
regulate a plurality of driving currents for driving the
LEDs.Iaddend..
.[.15. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the
driving circuit further comprises a current driving unit coupled
between the switches and the current control unit, and the current
control unit further outputs a control voltage according to the
dimming mode signal and the dimming signal, wherein the control
voltage controls the current driving unit to regulate a plurality
of driving currents for driving the LEDs..].
16. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the dimming
detector detects whether dimming is performed according to the
dimming signal and outputs the dimming mode signal according to the
detection result.
17. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the dimming
detector detects whether dimming is performed by detecting a duty
cycle of the dimming signal.
18. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the dimming
detector further detects whether a duty cycle of the dimming signal
is smaller than a predetermined value or not so as to output the
dimming mode signal to the current control unit for arranging the
status of the switches.
19. .[.The driving circuit as claimed in claim 18, wherein.].
.Iadd.A driving circuit for driving a plurality of light-emitting
diodes (LEDs), the driving circuit comprising: a plurality of
switches, used to be coupled to the LEDs; a dimming detector, for
receiving a dimming signal and outputting a dimming mode signal
according to the dimming signal; a current control unit, for
outputting a plurality of control signals according to the dimming
mode signal and the dimming signal, wherein the control signals
respectively control conducting states of the switches, wherein the
dimming detector detects whether dimming is performed according to
the dimming signal and outputs the dimming mode signal according to
the detection result, the dimming detector further detects whether
a duty cycle of the dimming signal is smaller than a predetermined
value or not so as to output the dimming mode signal to the current
control unit for arranging the status of the switches, and
.Iaddend.the dimming detector detects whether the duty cycle of the
dimming signal is smaller than the predetermined value or not so as
to further output the dimming signal to the current control
unit.Iadd., .Iaddend.such that the current control unit controls
the current driving unit to regulate driving currents for driving
the LEDs.
20. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 18, wherein in a
situation where the dimming detector detects that dimming is
performed and the duty cycle of the dimming signal is smaller than
the predetermined value, the current control unit outputs the
control signals to control the switches to be conducted for a
partial time of a period.
21. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 18, wherein in a
situation where the dimming detector detects that dimming is
performed and the duty cycle of the dimming signal .[.is the duty
cycle of the dimming signal.]. is not smaller than the
predetermined value, the current control unit outputs the control
signals to control each of the switches to be conducted for a full
time of a period.
22. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 19, wherein in a
situation where the dimming detector detects that dimming is
performed and the duty cycle of the dimming signal .[.is the duty
cycle of the dimming signal.]. is smaller than the predetermined
value, the current control unit outputs the control signals to
control each of the switches to be conducted for a partial time of
a period.
23. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 19, regardless of
whether a duty cycle of the dimming signal is smaller than the
predetermined value or not, the driving currents are regulated such
that a sum of the driving currents calculated for the period is
substantially proportional to the duty cycle of the dimming
signal.
.[.24. An electronic device, comprising the driving circuit as
claimed in claims 14; and a plurality of light-emitting diodes
coupled to and driven by the driving circuit..].
.Iadd.25. A driving circuit for driving a plurality of
light-emitting diodes (LEDs), the driving circuit comprising: a
plurality of switches, coupled to the LEDs; a dimming detector,
receiving a dimming signal and detecting a dimming control; and a
current control unit, coupled to the dimming detector, and
responsive to a detection of the dimming control to output a
plurality of control signals, wherein the control signals
respectively control conducting states of the switches, wherein the
driving circuit further comprises a current driving unit coupled
between the switches and the current control unit, the current
control unit further outputs a control voltage in response to the
detection of the dimming control, and the control voltage controls
the current driving unit to regulate a plurality of driving
currents for driving the LEDs..Iaddend.
.Iadd.26. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 25, wherein the
current control unit controls the conducting state of each of the
switches for a partial time of a period..Iaddend.
.Iadd.27. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 26, wherein
conducting times of the switches are substantially equal to each
other..Iaddend.
.Iadd.28. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 26, wherein
conducting times of any two of the switches are not
overlapped..Iaddend.
.Iadd.29. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 26, wherein the
driving currents flowing through the switches are substantially
equal to each other..Iaddend.
.Iadd.30. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 29, wherein a sum
of current magnitudes of the driving currents flowing through the
switches is substantially constant over the period..Iaddend.
.Iadd.31. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 25, wherein the
dimming detector further detects a predetermined condition
according to the dimming signal for determining ways of the dimming
control..Iaddend.
.Iadd.32. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 31, wherein the
dimming detector detects the predetermined condition by detecting a
duty cycle of the dimming signal..Iaddend.
.Iadd.33. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 32, wherein the
current control unit arranges the conducting states of the switches
according to detection result of the predetermined
condition..Iaddend.
.Iadd.34. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 33, wherein the
current control unit controls the current driving unit to regulate
the driving currents for driving the LEDs according to the
detection result of the predetermined condition..Iaddend.
.Iadd.35. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 33, wherein when
a first predetermined condition is detected, the current control
unit outputs the control signals to control the switches to be
conducted for a partial time of a period..Iaddend.
.Iadd.36. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 35, wherein when
a second predetermined condition is detected, the current control
unit outputs the control signals to control each of the switches to
be conducted for a full time of a period..Iaddend.
.Iadd.37. The driving circuit as claimed in claim 36, regardless of
the first predetermined condition or the second predetermined
condition is detected, the driving currents are regulated such that
a sum of the driving currents calculated for the period is
substantially proportional to the duty cycle of the dimming
signal..Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving method. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a driving apparatus
of a light-emitting diode and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have advantages of small size,
power-saving and high durability, and as fabrication processes
thereof become mature, price of the LEDs decreases. Therefore, it
is popular to use the LEDs as light source products. Moreover,
since the LED has features of low-operating voltage (only 1.5-3V),
initiative light-emitting, and having a certain brightness, wherein
the brightness can be adjusted by voltage or current, and has
features of impact resistance, anti-vibration and long lifespan
(100,000 hours), the LED is widely used to various terminal
equipments, such as vehicle headlamps, traffic lights, text
displays, billboards and large screen video displays, and domains
such as general level architectural lighting and liquid crystal
display (LCD) backlight, etc.
Regarding a driving circuit of the LED, a commonly used dimming
method thereof is to regulate a duty cycle of a pulse according to
a pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique, so as to regulate an
equivalent current output to the LED by an output stage to adjust a
brightness of the LED. However, when the PWM technique is used for
dimming, a current switching operation of the output stage is the
same as that of a switch. The current switching operation lead to a
great load variation of a voltage of the output stage, so that the
voltage may have an excessive ripple. Meanwhile, the excessive
ripple can cause a great magnetic field variation of an inductor in
the circuit, and a capacitor in the circuit can be sharply vibrated
to generate a shape-changing due to an excessive transient voltage
variation, so that an audio noise is generated.
FIG. 1A is a system schematic diagram illustrating a conventional
driving circuit of an LED. Referring to FIG. 1A, the driving
circuit 100 includes a voltage converter 110, a conversion loop
controller 120, an amplifier 130, a voltage selector 140 and a
current driving unit 150 formed by a plurality of current driving
devices. The voltage converter 110 receives a power voltage
V.sub.DD, and generates an operating voltage V.sub.CC with a level
different to that of the power voltage V.sub.DD according to an
output of the conversion loop controller 120. A positive input
terminal of the amplifier 130 receives a reference voltage Vref,
and a negative input terminal thereof receives an output voltage of
the voltage selector 140, so that the amplifier 130 accordingly
outputs a voltage to control the conversion loop controller 120,
wherein the reference voltage Vref is a fixed value. The voltage
selector 140 selects and outputs a voltage of a negative terminal
of one of LED strings 50_1-50_n. Positive terminals of the LED
strings 50_1-50_n receive the operating voltage V.sub.CC, and the
negative terminals of the LED strings 50_1-50_n are respectively
coupled to the current driving unit 150 through switches S1-Sn. The
LED strings 50_1-50_n are driven by load currents and the switches
are switched according to a dimming signal, so as to implement a
dimming operation.
FIG. 1B is a timing diagram of the driving currents of FIG. 1A.
Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, in the LED driving circuit 100,
the PWM technique is generally used to regulate a time t.sub.1 for
supplying the load currents so as to adjust the brightness of the
LED. In other words, in a fixed period T, the longer the time
t.sub.1 is, the higher the brightness of the LED is. Conversely,
the shorter the time t.sub.1 is, the lower the brightness of the
LED is. However, when the PWM technique is used for dimming,
switching operations of the switches S1-Sn lead to a variation of
the load currents and the variation of the load currents can lead
to a great load variation of the operating voltage V.sub.CC, so
that the operating voltage V.sub.CC output by the voltage converter
110 may have an excessive ripple. Meanwhile, an input current of
the voltage converter 100 may also have a great transient
variation, which may not only cause a great magnetic field
variation of an inductor in the voltage converter 100, but also a
regulation capacitor in the voltage converter 100 can be sharply
vibrated to generate a shape-changing due to an excessive transient
voltage variation, so that the audio noise is generated. Moreover,
regarding the driving circuit 100, during the dimming, the switches
S1-Sn are simultaneously switched to switch the load currents
i.sub.1-i.sub.n, though the current switching operation can cause a
severe electromagnetic interference (EMI).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a driving apparatus of a
light-emitting diode (LED) and a driving method thereof, which can
suppress an audio noise and an electromagnetic interference
(EMI).
The present invention provides a driving method of an LED, which is
adapted to a driving apparatus. The driving method includes
following steps. First, whether the driving apparatus performs
dimming is detected. Next, when the driving apparatus is detected
to perform dimming, determining whether a predetermined requirement
for dimming control is met or not. When the predetermined
requirement for dimming control is not met, respective current
magnitudes of a plurality of driving currents are regulated, and
each of the driving currents is output for a full time of a period.
When the predetermined requirement for dimming control is met, each
of the driving currents is output for a partial time of a
period.
The present invention provides a driving method of an LED, which is
adapted to a driving apparatus. The driving apparatus receives a
dimming signal. The driving method includes following steps. First,
it is detected whether the driving apparatus performs dimming.
Next, when the driving apparatus is detected to perform the
dimming, regulating at least one of a respective current magnitude
and a respective outputting time of each of a plurality of driving
currents in a period according to a duty cycle of the dimming
signal, such that a sum of the driving currents calculated for a
period is substantially proportional to the duty cycle of the
dimming signal
The present invention provides a driving circuit for driving a
plurality of LEDs. The driving circuit includes a plurality of
switches, a dimming detector and a current control unit. The
switches are respectively coupled to the LEDs. The dimming detector
receives a dimming signal, and detects whether the driving
apparatus performs dimming according to the dimming signal, so as
to output a dimming mode signal according to the dimming signal.
The current control unit outputs a plurality of control signals
according to the dimming mode signal and the dimming signal, and
the control signals respectively control conducting states of the
switches.
The present invention provides an electronic device that includes
said driving circuit and a plurality of LEDs coupled to and driven
by the driving circuit.
According to the driving apparatus of the LED of the present
invention and the driving method thereof, when the driving
apparatus performs the dimming and the duty cycle of the dimming
signal is smaller than the predetermined value, the outputting time
of the driving currents are equally allotted in a period, and the
current magnitude of each of the driving currents is
correspondingly regulated. When the driving apparatus performs the
dimming and the duty cycle of the dimming signal is equal to or
greater than the predetermined value, the driving currents are
simultaneously output in the period, and the current magnitude of
each of the driving currents is regulated according to the dimming
signal. By such means, the audio noise and the EMI caused by
excessive variation of a sum of the driving currents are
suppressed.
In order to make the aforementioned and other features and
advantages of the present invention comprehensible, several
exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in
detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1A is a system schematic diagram illustrating a conventional
driving circuit of an LED.
FIG. 1B is a timing diagram of driving currents of FIG. 1A.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a driving circuit
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2B is a current waveform diagram of LED strings of FIG.
2A.
FIG. 2C is another current waveform diagram of LED strings of FIG.
2A.
FIG. 2D is a waveform diagram of a driving apparatus and LED
strings of FIG. 2A.
FIG. 2E is a schematic diagram illustrating a current control unit
and a dimming detector of FIG. 2A.
FIG. 2F is a schematic diagram illustrating a duty cycle to voltage
converter of FIG. 2E.
FIG. 2G is another schematic diagram illustrating a duty cycle to
voltage converter of FIG. 2E.
FIG. 2H is another schematic diagram illustrating a current control
unit and a dimming detector of FIG. 2A.
FIG. 2I is still another schematic diagram illustrating a current
control unit and a dimming detector of FIG. 2A.
FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating a driving method according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a driving method according to
another embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred
embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in
the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference
numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to
the same or like parts.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a driving circuit
according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to
FIG. 2A, the driving circuit 200 includes a voltage converter 210,
a conversion loop controller 220, an amplifier 230, a voltage
selector 240, a current driving unit 250, a dimming detector 260, a
current control unit 270 and switches SW1-SWn. The dimming detector
260 receives a dimming signal Sdim, and detects whether the driving
apparatus 200 performs dimming according to the dimming signal
Sdim, so as to output a dimming mode signal Smod. The current
control unit 270 outputs a plurality of control signals Sco1 and a
control voltage Vco1 according to the dimming mode signal Smod and
the dimming signal Sdim. The control signals Sco1 respectively
control a conducting state of each of the switches SW1-SWn, and the
control voltage Vco1 controls the current driving unit 250 to
regulate current magnitudes of driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n.
The voltage converter 210 receives a power voltage V.sub.DD, and
generates an operating voltage V.sub.CC with a level different to
that of the power voltage V.sub.DD according to an adjusting signal
output from the conversion loop controller 220. The conversion loop
controller 220 generates the adjusting signal according to a
received voltage. A positive input terminal of the amplifier 230
receives a reference voltage V.sub.R, and a negative input terminal
thereof receives a voltage output from the voltage selector 240, so
that the amplifier 230 accordingly outputs a voltage to the
conversion loop controller 220, wherein the reference voltage
V.sub.R can be a fixed value. The voltage selector 240 selects and
outputs a voltage of a negative terminal of one of light-emitting
diode (LED) strings 50_1-50_n. Positive terminals of the LED
strings 50_1-50_n receive the operating voltage V.sub.CC, and the
negative terminals of the LED strings 50_1-50_n are respectively
coupled to the current driving unit 250 through the switches
SW1-SWn. The LED strings 50_1-50_n are driven by the driving
currents i.sub.1-i.sub.n.
When a duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is 100%, it represents
that the driving apparatus does not perform the dimming. Now, the
current control unit 270 generates the control signals Sco1
according to the dimming mode signal Smod, so as to control the
switches to be simultaneously conducted in a period, and control
the current driving unit 250 to regulate a current magnitude D of
each of the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n to a current upper
limit according to the control voltage Vco1. When the duty cycle of
the dimming signal Sdim is not 100%, it represents that the driving
apparatus performs the dimming. Now, the current control unit 270
also generates the control signals Sco1 according to the dimming
mode signal Smod, so as to control conducting time of the switches
SW1-SWn to be equivalent in a period, and control the current
driving unit 250 to regulate the current magnitudes of the driving
currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n according to the control voltage Vco1,
wherein the current driving unit 250 can be formed by a plurality
of voltage-controlled current sources, so as to simultaneously
regulate the current magnitudes of the driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n according to the control voltage Vco1. It should be
noticed that a relationship between the duty cycle of the dimming
signal Sdim and whether the driving apparatus 200 performs the
dimming is only used as an example, which can be modified according
to an actual requirement.
The dimming operation of the driving apparatus 200 is further
described below. FIG. 2B is a current waveform diagram of the LED
strings of FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, when the
driving apparatus 200 performs the dimming and the duty cycle of
the dimming signal Sdim is greater than or equal to a predetermined
value, the current control unit 270 generates a plurality of the
control signals Sco1 and the control voltage Vco1 according to the
dimming mode signal Smod and the dimming signal Sdim. The control
signals Sco1 control the switches SW1-SWn to be simultaneously
conducted in a period T, so as to simultaneously provide the
driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n to the LED strings 50_1-50_n. The
currents on the LED strings 50_1-50_n present a direct current (DC)
state rather than a pulse state due to that the switches SW1-SWn
are maintained conducted. Moreover, the current driving unit 250
regulates the current magnitude D of each of the driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n according to the control voltage Vco1, wherein the
current magnitude D relates to the duty cycle of the dimming signal
Sdim, for example, if the duty cycle is 1/8, the current magnitude
D is equal to 1/8 of the current upper limit. The predetermined
value can be a ratio between the period T and a number n of the
driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n, for example, if the number n of
the driving currents is 8, the predetermined value is then 1/8 of
the period (i.e. T/8).
FIG. 2C is another current waveform diagram of the LED strings of
FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2C, when the driving
apparatus 200 performs the dimming and the duty cycle of the
dimming signal Sdim is smaller than the predetermined value, the
current control unit 270 also generates a plurality of the control
signals Sco1 and the control voltage Vco1 according to the dimming
mode signal Smod and the dimming signal Sdim. The control signals
Sco1 control conducting time t.sub.2 of each of the switches
SW1-SWn to be equivalent in the period T, so as to respectively
output the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n to the LED strings
50_1-50_n. For example, if a number of the switches is 8, the
conducting time t.sub.2 is then 1/8 of the period T. The current
driving unit 250 regulates the current magnitude D of each of the
driving currents according to the control voltage Vco1, wherein the
current magnitude D relates to the duty cycle of the dimming signal
Sdim and the predetermined value, for example, if the duty cycle is
1/16, the current magnitude D is equal to 1/2 of the current upper
limit, i.e. equal to the duty cycle (i.e. 1/16) divided by the
predetermined value (i.e. 1/8) times the current upper limit The
driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n can be sequentially output in turn
or can be output in turn according to a random sequence.
Accordingly, regardless of the switches SW1-SWn being
simultaneously or respectively conducted during the period T
according to the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim, a sum of
the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n is approximately maintained to
a fixed value, which can greatly reduce or even eliminate a load
variation of the operating voltage V.sub.CC, so as to suppress an
audio noise and an electromagnetic interference (EMI).
FIG. 2D is a waveform diagram of the driving apparatus and the LED
strings of FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2D, in the
present embodiment, assuming the driving apparatus 200 only drives
the LED strings 50_1 and 50_2, and the duty cycle of the received
dimming signal Sdim is 1/4. Now, the switches SW1 and SW2 are
respectively conducted according to the received control signals
Sco1, and the conducting time thereof is respectively T/2.
Moreover, the current driving unit 250 regulates the current
magnitude D of each of the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n to a
half (i.e. 1/2) of a current upper limit H according to the control
voltage Vco1, wherein the current upper limit H corresponds to a
high level V of the voltage signal. Accordingly, the driving
apparatus 200 can implement a 1/4 dimming effect, and the current
magnitude D is approximately maintained to a half of the current
upper limit H, so as to suppress the audio noise and the EMI.
FIG. 2E is a schematic diagram illustrating the current control
unit and the dimming detector of FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG. 2E, in
the present embodiment, the current control unit 270 includes a
multiplexer 271, a disperse delay unit 272 and a duty cycle to
voltage converter 273. When the driving apparatus 200 performs the
dimming and the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is greater
than or equal to the predetermined value, under a control of the
dimming mode signal Smod output from the dimming detector 260, a
first output terminal of the multiplexer 271 outputs the dimming
signal Sdim received by an input terminal thereof to the duty cycle
to voltage converter 273, so as to regulate a magnitude of the
control voltage Vco1 according to the duty cycle of the dimming
signal Sdim. The current driving unit 250 synchronously regulates
the current magnitudes of the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n
according to a magnitude of the control voltage Vco1. Meanwhile,
since the disperse delay unit 272 does not receive the dimming
signal Sdim, the control signals of the disperse delay unit 272
control the switches SW1-SWn to be simultaneously conducted, so as
to simultaneously output the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n to
the LED strings 50_1-50_n.
When the driving apparatus 200 performs the dimming and the duty
cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is smaller than the predetermined
value, under a control of the dimming mode signal Smod output from
the dimming detector 260, a second output terminal of the
multiplexer 271 outputs the dimming signal Sdim received by the
input terminal thereof to the disperse delay unit 272. After the
disperse delay unit 272 receives the dimming signal Sdim, the
controls signals Sco1 generated by the disperse delay unit 272
control the switches SW1-SWn to be respectively conducted during
the period, wherein the conducting time of each of the switches
SW1-SWn is identical. Generally, the control signals Sco1 can
separately transmit pulses to conduct the switches SW1-SWn at
different time sections. The conducting time of the switches
SW1-SWn are separated and consecutive, i.e. the pulses used for
conducting the switches are consecutively output from the
corresponding output terminals of the control signals Sco1, and a
consecutive output effect thereof is equivalent to a pulse shifting
effect. Wherein, the pulse shifting effect can be implemented by
shift registers, namely, the function that the control signals Sco1
transmit the pulses at different time sections can be implemented
by shifting and outputting the pulses through a plurality of the
shift registers.
Meanwhile, the disperse delay unit 272 transmits the received
dimming signal Sdim to the duty cycle to voltage converter 273, and
simultaneously outputs a gain signal GN to the duty cycle to
voltage converter 273. The duty cycle to voltage converter 273
regulates the magnitude of the control voltage Vco1 according to
the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim and the gain signal GN,
so as to synchronously regulate the magnitudes of the driving
currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n. Wherein, the gain signal GN can transmit
a gain, and the gain transmitted by the gain signal GN can be equal
to a current number of the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n. For
example, if the current number of the driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n is 8, the gain transmitted by the gain signal GN is
8. For example, when the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is
1/16, the current magnitude of each of the driving currents should
be 1/16 of the current upper limit, though according to the gain
signal GN, the current magnitude of each of the driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n is adjusted to be 1/2 of the current upper limit,
and since the outputting time of each of the driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n is 1/8 of the period, a 1/16 dimming effect can be
achieved.
It should be noticed that when the disperse delay unit 272 does not
receive the dimming signal Sdim, the disperse delay unit 272 can
output the gain signal GN with a gain of 1, or does not output the
gain signal GN. Moreover, when the duty cycle to voltage converter
273 does not receive the gain signal GN, it can generate the
corresponding control voltage Vco1 according to the duty cycle of
the dimming signal Sdim.
FIG. 2F is a schematic diagram illustrating the duty cycle to
voltage converter of FIG. 2E. Referring to FIG. 2F, in the present
embodiment, the duty cycle to voltage converter 273 includes a low
pass filter circuit LPF1 and an analog multiplier ML1, wherein the
low pass filter circuit LPF1 can be formed by a resistor R1 and a
capacitor C1, though the present invention is not limited thereto.
The low pass filter circuit LPF1 can convert the received dimming
signal Sdim into a DC level, i.e. the low pass filter circuit LPF1
can output different DC levels according to different duty cycles
of the dimming signal Sdim. The analog multiplier ML1 can amplify
the DC level output from the low pass filter circuit LPF1 to serve
as the control voltage Vco1 according to the gain signal GN. When
the gain transmitted by the gain signal GN is 1, a level of the
control voltage Vco1 is the same to the DC level output by the low
pass filter circuit LPF1. When the gain transmitted by the gain
signal GN is 2, the level of the control voltage Vco1 is twice of
the DC level output by the low pass filter circuit LPF1, and the
others are deduced by analogy.
FIG. 2G is another schematic diagram illustrating the duty cycle to
voltage converter of FIG. 2E. Referring to FIG. 2F and FIG. 2G, a
difference there between lies in a multiplexer mux1. The
multiplexer mux1 determines whether to transmit the DC level output
from the low pass filter circuit LPF1 to the analog multiplier ML1
or directly output the DC level according to the dimming mode
signal Smod. In other words, when the driving apparatus 200
performs the dimming, and the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim
is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the DC level
output by the low pass filter circuit LPF1 is directly output as
the control voltage Vco1. When the driving apparatus 200 performs
the dimming, and the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is
smaller than the predetermined value, the DC level output by the
low pass filter circuit LPF1 is transmitted to the analog
multiplier ML1, so as to be amplified according to the gain signal
GN and output as the control voltage Vco1.
FIG. 2H is another schematic diagram illustrating the current
control unit and the dimming detector of FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG.
2E and FIG. 2H, differences there between lie in the disperse delay
unit 274 and the omitted multiplexer 271. When the driving
apparatus 200 performs the dimming, and the duty cycle of the
dimming signal Sdim is greater than or equal to the predetermined
value, the disperse delay unit 274 generates the control signals
Sco1 according to the dimming mode signal Smod, so as to control
the switches SW1-SWn to be simultaneously conducted, wherein the
disperse delay unit 274 does not output the gain signal GN or
outputs the gain signal GN with the gain of 1. In case that the
disperse delay unit 274 does not output the gain signal GN, the
duty cycle to voltage converter 273 can generate the control
voltage Vco1 according to the received dimming signal Sdim. In case
that the disperse delay unit 274 outputs the gain signal GN with
the gain of 1, the duty cycle to voltage converter 273 can generate
the control voltage Vco1 according to the received dimming signal
Sdim and the gain signal GN.
When the driving apparatus 200 performs the dimming, and the duty
cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is smaller than the predetermined
value, the disperse delay unit 274 generates the control signals
Sco1 according to the dimming mode signal Smod, so as to control
the switches SW1-SWn to be respectively conducted in one period,
and the disperse delay unit 274 outputs the gain signal GN
corresponding to the current number of the driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n. The duty cycle to voltage converter 273 can
generate the control voltage Vco1 according to the received dimming
signal Sdim and the gain signal GN.
FIG. 2I is still another schematic diagram illustrating the current
control unit and the dimming detector of FIG. 2A. Referring to FIG.
2I, the current number of the driving currents I.sub.1-I.sub.n is,
for example, 8, i.e. the predetermined value is 1/8. The dimming
detector 260 includes a low pass filter circuit LPF2, an
analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 261 and an OR gate 262, wherein
the ADC 261 is, for example, a 4 bits ADC. If the duty cycle of the
dimming signal Sdim is 1/4, the ADC 261 outputs "0100", which is
"0100 0000" in a digital type. The predetermined value is "0010
0000" in the digital type.
According to the above description, as long as one of the front
three highest bits has a value of 1, it is considered to be greater
than the predetermined value, so that an OR operation can be
performed to the front three highest bits to generate the dimming
mode signal Smod. After the OR gate 262 operates the front three
highest bits of "0100 0000" output by the ADC 261, the dimming mode
signal Smod with a high logic level is generated, which represents
that the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is greater than the
predetermined value. Thereafter, the multiplexer 271 outputs "0100
0000" transmitted from the ADC 261 to a duty cycle to voltage
converter 276 according to the dimming mode signal Smod, so as to
convert the digital type "0100 0000" into an analog type and output
it as the control voltage Vco1, wherein the duty cycle to voltage
converter 276 can include a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for
converting the digital type "0100 0000" into the analog type.
Moreover, when the disperse delay unit 275 does not receive the
output of the ADC 261, it can correspondingly generate a plurality
of the control signals Sco1 to simultaneously conduct the switches
SW1-SWn.
If the duty cycle of the dimming signal Sdim is 1/16, the ADC 261
outputs "0001 0000", and after the OR gate 262 operates the front
three highest bits thereof, the dimming mode signal Smod with a low
logic level is generated. Thereafter, the multiplexer 271 outputs
"0001 0000" transmitted from the ADC 261 to the duty cycle to
voltage converter 276 according to the dimming mode signal Smod.
Now, the disperse delay unit 275 correspondingly generates a
plurality of the control signals Sco1 to control the switches
SW1-SWn to be respectively conducted during one period. Moreover,
the disperse delay unit 275 regulates the output "0001 0000" of the
ADC 261 according to the predetermined value, i.e. "0001 0000" is
multiplied by 8 (which is equivalent to left-shift three bits) to
obtain "1000 0000". Taking "1000 0000" as the gain signal, the duty
cycle to voltage converter 276 converts "1000 0000" into an analog
type and outputs it as the control voltage Vco1. It should be
noticed that in the present embodiment, the duty cycle to voltage
converter 276 does not receive the dimming signal Sdim, so as to
reduce a complexity of a circuit design.
According to the above description, a driving method for the
driving apparatus 200 can be deduced. FIG. 3A is a flowchart
illustrating a driving method according to an embodiment of the
present invention. Referring to FIG. 2A and FIG. 3A, the driving
apparatus 200 receives the dimming signal Sdim, and whether the
driving apparatus 200 performs the dimming can be detected
according to the dimming signal Sdim (step S301). When the driving
apparatus 200 performs the dimming, the outputting time of the
driving currents are equally allotted in a period (step S302), and
the driving apparatus 200 can output the driving currents
I.sub.1-I.sub.n to respectively drive the LED strings 50_1-50_n.
When the driving apparatus 200 does not perform the dimming, the
driving method is ended.
FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a driving method according to
another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3A
and FIG. 3B, a difference there between lies in steps S311, S312
and S313. When the driving apparatus performs the dimming, it is
determined whether the duty cycle of the dimming signal is smaller
than the predetermined value (step S311). If the duty cycle of the
dimming signal is not smaller than the predetermined value, the
driving currents are simultaneously output during the period, and
the current magnitudes of the driving currents are regulated
according to the dimming signal (step S312). If the duty cycle of
the dimming signal is smaller than the predetermined value, the
outputting time of the driving currents are equally allotted in the
period, and the current magnitudes of the driving currents are
correspondingly regulated (step S313). Wherein, the aforementioned
embodiments can be referred for the steps S312 and S313, and
therefore detailed descriptions thereof are not repeated.
In summary, according to the driving apparatus of the LED of the
present invention and the driving method thereof, when the driving
apparatus performs the dimming and the duty cycle of the dimming
signal is smaller than the predetermined value, the outputting time
of the driving currents are equally allotted in the period, and the
current magnitude of each of the driving currents is
correspondingly regulated. When the driving apparatus performs the
dimming and the duty cycle of the dimming signal is equal to or
greater than the predetermined value, the driving currents are
simultaneously output in the period, and the current magnitude of
each of the driving currents is regulated according to the dimming
signal. By such means, the audio noise and the EMI caused by
excessive variation of a sum of the driving currents are
suppressed.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *